Fans were shocked when news broke that a lawsuit had been filed against Garth Brooks, accusing him of sexual assault and battery. Brooks has denied all claims, but Jane Roe is seemingly ready for a battle as she’s hired one of New York City’s top lawyers. Roe is being represented by Doug Wigdor. Get to know the attorney amid the recent allegations against Brooks.
Who Is Doug Wigdor?
Wigdor is one of the founding partners of the Wigdor LLP law firm located in New York City. His website states that he “focuses on litigation and counseling of individuals in connection with a wide array of employment and sexual assault issues.” He holds degrees from Washington University, Oxford University and the Catholic University School of Law, and he began his career as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, New York.
Along with his impressive resume, Wigdor has also been involved in a wide range of projects within his community of Forest Hills in Queens, New York. He and his wife, Catherine, reside there with their two sons.
Who Has Doug Wigdor Represented?
Wigdor has extensive experience with lawsuits in the entertainment industry. One of his most notable recent clients is Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who he represented in her sexual assault lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs. He also served as legal counsel for several of the alleged sexual abuse victims in the case against Harvey Weinstein, over 20 employees at Fox News with claims of sexual harassment, gender and race discrimination and retaliation and sports journalist Jim Trotter in his discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the NFL and NFL Media.
What Has Doug Wigdor Said About the Garth Brooks Case?
In Touch confirmed that Roe filed suit against Brooks on October 3, 2024, and alleged multiple incidents occurred in 2019 when she was working for the country singer as a hair and makeup artist. Roe claimed that the “Ain’t Goin’ Down” singer raped her in a hotel room during a work trip in Los Angeles. She also accused Brooks of repeatedly exposing his genitals and buttocks, inappropriately discussing sexual fantasies with her, changing his clothes in front of her on a regular basis and sending sexually explicit texts.
Brooks explicitly denied all of the claims and alleged that the lawsuit was part of a ploy to extort him out of millions of dollars in “hush money,” according to CNN. However, the outlet also reported that the “Friends in Low Places” artist had tried to block Roe from publicly repeating the allegations in public. While Brooks submitted the filing under the anonymous name “John Doe,” his identity was later revealed.
Wigdor fired back at Brooks’ allegations and revealed he was “very confident” in Roe’s case, in a statement given to CNN.
“It seems as though Sean Combs and Garth Brooks are using the same public relations team by attacking legitimate victims,” Wigdor said. “Over time the public will see his true character rather than his highly curated persona. I cannot get into settlement discussions, but the suggestion made by Brooks that he was unwilling to pay millions is simply not true.”
Wigdor and fellow attorneys Jeanne M. Christensen and Hayley Baker added, “We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions. We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks. The complaint filed today demonstrates that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, Hollywood and in the rap and rock and roll industries but also in the world of country music.”
